2009 KIA Optima sensor

321
Safety features of your vehicle
✽
✽NOTICE• Both the driver's and front passen-
ger's pre-tensioner seat belts may be
activated in certain frontal collisions.
The pre-tensioners will not be activat-
ed if the seat belts are not being worn
at the time of the collision.
• When the pre-tensioner seat belts are activated, a loud noise may be heard
and fine dust, which may appear to be
smoke, may be visible in the passenger
compartment. These are normal oper-
ating conditions and are not haz-
ardous.
• Although it is harmless, the fine dust may cause skin irritation and should
not be breathed for prolonged peri-
ods. Wash all exposed skin areas thor-
oughly after an accident in which the
pre-tensioner seat belts were activat-
ed.
✽ ✽ NOTICEBecause the sensor that activates the
SRS air bag is connected with the pre-
tensioner seat belt, the SRS air bag
warning light on the instrument
panel will illuminate for approximately
6 seconds after the ignition switch has
been turned to the ON position, and
then it should turn off.
CAUTION
If the pre-tensioner seat belt is not
working properly, this warning lightwill illuminate even if there is no malfunction of the SRS air bag. Ifthe SRS air bag warning light does not illuminate when the ignitionswitch is turned ON, or if it remainsilluminated after illuminating for approximately 6 seconds, or if itilluminates while the vehicle is being driven, have an authorizedKIA dealer inspect the pre-tension- er seat belt and SRS air bag systemas soon as possible.
WARNING
Pre-tensioners are designed to operate only one time. After acti-
vation, pre-tensioner seat belts
must be replaced. All seat belts,
of any type, should always be
replaced after they have been
worn during a collision.
The pre-tensioner seat belt assembly mechanisms become
hot during activation. Do not
touch the pre-tensioner seat belt
assemblies for several minutes
after they have been activated.
Do not attempt to inspect or replace the pre-tensioner seat
belts yourself. This must be done
by an authorized KIA dealer.
Do not strike the pre-tensioner seat belt assemblies.
Do not attempt to service or repair the pre-tensioner seat belt
system in any manner.
(Continued)

335
Safety features of your vehicle
C040900AEN-EUHow does the air bag system
operate Air bags are activated (able to inflate ifnecessary) only when the ignition
switch is turned to the ON or START
position.
Air bags inflate instantly in the event of a serious frontal or side collision in
order to help protect the occupants
from serious physical injury.
There is no single speed at which the air bags will inflate.
Generally, air bags are designed to
inflate based upon the severity of a col-
lision and its direction. These two fac-
tors determine whether the sensors
produce an electronic deployment/
inflation signal.
Air bag deployment depends on a number of factors including vehicle
speed, angles of impact and the densi-
ty and stiffness of the vehicles or
objects which your vehicle hits in the
collision. The determining factors are
not limited to those mentioned above.
The front air bags will completely inflate and deflate in an instant.
It is virtually impossible for you to see
the air bags inflate during an accident. It is much more likely that you will sim-
ply see the deflated air bags hanging
out of their storage compartments after
the collision.
In order to help provide protection in a severe collision, the air bags must
inflate rapidly. The speed of air bag
inflation is a consequence of the
extremely short time in which a collision
occurs and the need to inflate the air
bag between the occupant and the
vehicle structures before the occupant
impacts those structures. This speed of
inflation reduces the risk of serious or
life-threatening injuries in a severe col-
lision and is thus a necessary part of air
bag design.
However, air bag inflation can also
cause injuries which can include facial
abrasions, bruises and broken bones
because the inflation speed also caus-
es the air bags to expand with a great
deal of force.
There are even circumstances under which contact with the steer-
ing wheel air bag can cause fatal
injuries, especially if the occupant
is positioned excessively close to
the steering wheel.
WARNING
To avoid severe personal injuryor death caused by deploying air
bags in a collision, the driver
should sit as far back from the
steering wheel air bag as possi-
ble (at least 250 mm (10 inches)
away). The front passengers
should always move their seats
as far back as possible and sit
back in their seat.
Air bags inflate instantly in the event of collision, and passen-
gers may be injured by the air bag
expansion force if they are not in
proper position.
Air bag inflation may cause injuries including facial or bodily
abrasions, injuries from broken
glasses or burns.

337
Safety features of your vehicle
C040100AMG-ECSRS components and functionsThe SRS consists of the following com-
ponents:
1. Driver's front air bag module
2. Passenger's front air bag module
3. Side impact air bag modules
4. Curtain air bag modules
5. Retractor pre-tensioner assemblies
6. Air bag warning light
7. SRS control module (SRSCM)
8. Front impact sensors*
9. Side impact sensors*The SRSCM continually monitors all
SRS components while the ignition
switch is ON to determine if a crash
impact is severe enough to require air
bag deployment or pre-tensioner seat
belt deployment.
The SRS air bag warning light " " on
the instrument panel will illuminate for
about 6 seconds after the ignition switch
is turned to the ON position, after which
the SRS air bag warning light " "
should go out.
If any of the following conditions occurs,
this indicates a malfunction of the SRS.
Have an authorized KIA dealer inspect
the air bag system as soon as possible.
The light does not turn on briefly whenyou turn the ignition ON.
The light stays on after illuminating for approximately 6 seconds.
The light comes on while the vehicle is in motion.
W7-147
OMG039079C

343
Safety features of your vehicle
The side impact air bags are designed to
deploy only during certain side-impact
collisions, depending on the crash sever-
ity, angle, speed and point of impact. The
side impact air bags are not designed to
deploy in all side impact situations.
(Continued)
Do not install any accessories onthe side or near the side impact
air bag.
Do not place any objects over the air bag or between the air bag
and yourself.
Do not place any objects (an umbrella, bag, etc.) between the
door and the seat. Such objects
may become dangerous projec-
tiles and cause injury if the sup-
plemental side impact air bag
inflates.
To prevent unexpected deploy- ment of the side impact air bag
that may result in personal injury,
avoid impact to the side impact
sensor when the ignition switch
is on.
If the seat or seat cover is dam- aged, have the vehicle checked
and repaired by an authorized
KIA dealer because your vehicle
is equipped with side impact air
bags.
WARNING
The side impact air bag is sup-plemental to the seat belt sys-
tems and is not a substitute for
them. Therefore your seat belts
must be worn at all times while
the vehicle is in motion. The air
bags deploy only in certain side
impact conditions severe enough
to cause significant injury to the
vehicle occupants.
For best protection from the side impact air bag system and to
avoid being injured by the
deploying side impact air bag, all
seat occupants should sit in an
upright position with the seat belt
properly fastened. The driver's
hands should be placed on the
steering wheel at the 9:00 and
3:00 positions. The passenger'
arms and hands should be
placed on their laps.
Do not use any accessory seat covers.
Use of seat covers could reduce or prevent the effectiveness of
the system.
(Continued)

345
Safety features of your vehicle
C040800AUNWhy didn’t my air bag go off in a
collision? (Inflation and non-infla-
tion conditions of the air bag)There are many types of accidents in
which the air bag would not be expect-
ed to provide additional protection.
These include rear impacts, second or
third collisions in multiple impact
accidents, as well as low speed
impacts. In other words, just because
your vehicle is damaged and even if it
is totally unusable, don’t be surprised
that the air bags did not inflate.
Air bag collision sensors(1) SRS control module
(2) Front impact sensor(3) Side impact sensor (front)
1JBA3512A/OMG035052/OMG039054/OMG035053/OMG035055
1
2
3

Safety features of your vehicle46
3
C040801AENAir bag inflation conditionsFront air bags
Front air bags are designed to inflate in a
frontal collision depending on the intensi-
ty, speed or angles of impact of the front
collision.
WARNING
Do not hit or allow any objects to
impact the locations where air
bags or sensors are installed.
This may cause unexpected air
bag deployment, which could
result in serious personal injury
or death.
If the installation location or angle of the sensors is altered in
any way, the air bags may deploy
when they should not or they may
not deploy when they should,
causing severe injury or death.
Therefore, do not try to perform
maintenance on or around the air
bag sensors. Have the vehicle
checked and repaired by an
authorized KIA dealer.
(Continued)
(Continued)
Problems may arise if the sensorinstallation angles are changed
due to the deformation of the
front bumper, body or B and C pil-
lars where side collision sensors
are installed. Have the vehicle
checked and repaired by an
authorized KIA dealer.
Your vehicle has been designed to absorb impact and deploy the
air bag(s) in certain collisions.
Installing bumper guards or
replacing a bumper with non-gen-
uine parts may adversely affect
your vehicle’s collision and air
bag deployment performance.
1JBA3513

347
Safety features of your vehicle
Side impact and curtain air bags
Side impact and curtain air bags are
designed to inflate when an impact is
detected by side collision sensors
depending on the strength, speed or
angles of impact resulting from a side
impact collision.Although the front air bags (driver’s and
front passenger’s air bags) are designed
to inflate only in frontal collisions, they
also may inflate in other types of colli-
sions if the front impact sensors detect a
sufficient impact. Side impact and curtain
air bags are designed to inflate only in
side impact collisions, but they may
inflate in other collisions if the side
impact sensors detect a sufficient
impact.
If the vehicle chassis is impacted by
bumps or objects on unimproved roads,
the air bags may deploy. Drive carefully
on unimproved roads or on surfaces not
designed for vehicle traffic to prevent
unintended air bag deployment.
C040802AENAir bag non-inflation conditions In certain low-speed collisions the air
bags may not deploy. The air bags are
designed not to deploy in such cases
because they may not provide benefits
beyond the protection of the seat belts
in such collisions.
1JBA3516OUN026090
1JBA3515

Safety features of your vehicle48
3 Frontal air bags are not designed to
inflate in rear collisions, because occu-
pants are moved backward by the
force of the impact. In this case, inflat-
ed air bags would not be able to pro-
vide any additional benefit. Front air bags may not inflate in side
impact collisions, because occupants
move to the direction of the collision,
and thus in side impacts, frontal air bag
deployment would not provide addi-
tional occupant protection.
However, side impact and curtain air
bags may inflate depending on the
intensity, vehicle speed and angles of
impact. In an angled collision, the force of
impact may direct the occupants in a
direction where the air bags would not
be able to provide any additional bene-
fit, and thus the sensors may not
deploy any air bags.
1JBA3521
1JBA3516
OED036100